Five things to see at . . . That’s Fife! Comedy Festival

From an innovative ventriloquist to an anarchist cook, Fife lays out some top comedy in April

Sandwiched in between the Glasgow and Edinburgh comedy festival bonanzas is That's Fife! – very fine month-long offering. Here we take a peek at five highlights from their star-studded programme.

1. Nina ContiVentriloquism has had a patchy reputation down the years but Conti is one of those acts (Zerdin and Strassman are two others) who have helped push the genre into intriguing areas. With her latest show, In Your Face, Tom’s daughter straps a mask onto audience members and plays them for our entertainment. It’s not as terrifying as it sounds. Or is it … ?Rothes Halls, Glenrothes, Sat 16 Apr

2. Fred MacAulay The popular gagster has used this last year of being off the radio to enjoy getting back to what he has always done best. Creating joke-filled stand-up shows with a point. Life is his somewhat broad topic here. Byre Theatre, St Andrews, Wed 13 Apr

5. Chris RamseyHaving recently survived a scary case of mistaken identity at the hands of London’s boys and girls in blue, the Geordie will be pleased to simply get back onto the nation’s stages and doing his stand-up thing. For this show, he’s on tip-top form discussing what it means to be a dad and a husband when acting like a responsible adult is often the last thing on his mind.Adam Smith Theatre, Kirkcaldy, Sun 17 Apr